Follow Up On The Judge's Findings

November 05, 1994

State leaders must keep up the momentum generated by an eye-opening grand jury report alleging police corruption in Hartford and New Britain that broadly linked the city and state welfare system to the street drug trade. To fail to act upon the horrendous mess uncovered by Judge Arthur L. Spada would be a travesty.

At the very least, Judge Spada's report, the result of an 18-month investigation, should serve as a catalyst for further exploration of wrongdoing. The questioning of nearly 150 witnesses led the judge to believe that there is substantial drug activity in the city's North End that he did not have time or resources to investigate. He theorizes, logically, that where there is major drug traffic, there is likely to be police corruption.

His findings should be sufficient to justify another grand jury, the most reliable instrument for investigating this sort of corruption. Police, as Judge Spada's report makes clear, cannot adequately police themselves.

Meanwhile, the judge's report should prompt a thorough study of the systems that his investigation revealed to be flawed. An official look at inadequate police discipline, failure to enforce liquor laws and welfare fraud carry a particular urgency.

Some critics of the report question the judge's conclusion that public money fuels the bulk of drug commerce in Hartford and environs. Some say the grand jury report unfairly attacks the welfare system, and by implication, the bona fide recipients of public assistance.

Still, the state has nothing to lose, and much to gain, in finding out whether Judge Spada is on target. The audacious examples of fraud he uncovered are enough to warrant a closer look at the system.

One person alone can't be expected to come up with quick solutions for embedded social problems. A blue-ribbon commission should be empaneled, as the judge suggests, to follow up on the grand jury report.

The commission should represent a cross- section of interests. It ought to include the chief state's attorney, the attorney general, one or two police chiefs, police union representatives, a welfare official and even executives from corporations with an interest in cleaning up their communities. The commission's ultimate recommendations should be given top priority by the Legislature.

Judge Spada has had the courage to speak out about a cancer that has been destroying Hartford and other cities, and tainting the quality of life for law-abiding residents. City and state leaders have an obligation to follow through on his work.

Here, at last, is official documentation of a culture of corruption that's poisoning society. To sit by and let it grow would be unconscionable.